100 Year History

Madison Campus Seventh-day Adventist Church officially began in 1906. However, our beginnings are in 1904 when a small group of Adventists under the direction of Adventist prophet, pioneer, and leader, Ellen G. White, purchased a 789-acre plantation in Madison for the purpose of building a school and medical facility. Two years later, Madison Campus Church was organized with about twenty Seventh-day Adventists meeting in the parlor of the old plantation house. As the group of believers grew, they first met in a little chapel and then in Gotzian Hall. In 1923, Helen Funk Assembly Hall was built, and this was the church home for 49 years.

In 1971, our present church facility was built, but it wasn’t until 1976 that the two-story annex was added to house the Sabbath School classes, youth chapel, fellowship hall, kitchen, and offices. During those 5 years, Sabbath School classes and other events were scattered all over the campus, a big inconvenience, especially in bad weather. In 1994, our church was greatly improved with renovation and redecorating in the sanctuary. Also added were the two covered entrances, more classrooms, more foyer area, and an enlarged and the paved parking lot. In 2002 the process of building a much-needed addition and enlarging the church’s elementary school was begun. Because of the great need at the school, the church voted to do that project first, and as soon as it was complete, the church family life wing of our church facility was begun and completed.

The “campus” part of Madison Campus Seventh-day Adventist Church comes from the fact that the church is part of a larger Seventh-day Adventist community that has included a college, hospital, elementary, academy (high school), farm, laundry, and community service center. When the property we are situated on today was purchased it was for the purpose of training and equipping young people to “serve the world” through spreading the good news of Jesus soon return. While many things have changed over the last 100 plus years, that has remained the same. Today we are proud to support Madison Farms, Madison Campus Elementary (Pre K – 8th grade), Madison Academy (9th through 12th grades), and the Adventist Community Services Center located at 403 Gallatin Pike.

While we’ve told you about our facilities and our past, Madison Campus has never been about that. We always look to the future and our facilities are simply tools for accomplishing our mission, a mission that has seen great success since our beginnings in 1904. We exist to help people learn to love and grow that love for God, learn to love and grow in their love for all people, and to learn how to spread that love through service to the world. If that mission resonates with you, we’d love for you to become a part of the continuing history of Madison Campus Seventh-day Adventist Church.